"Hello, LDS scholars. Look at your bookshelf, now back at mine. Now back at your bookshelf, now back to mine! Sadly your bookshelf doesn’t have all the LDS science books that mine has, but if you stopped buying vampire love stories, it could look like mine."Ok guys, it’s time to update the list of LDS science-themed books. A few months ago I listed 11 books for LDS scholars interested in science and LDS theology. Some readers recommended books not included in the original list. Thanks for your contributions. Here is the updated list. Divine Engineering (by David Brems)Earth: In the Beginning (by Eric Skousen)Joseph Smith as Scientist (by Elder John A. Widtsoe)Mormons and Science: Setting the Record Straight (by Rodney Brown)Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring (by Henry J Eyring)Of Heaven and Earth: Reconciling Scientific Thought with LDS Theology (edited by Clark)Science, Religion, and Mormon Cosmology (by Erich Paul)Science and Mormonism (by Melvin Cook & Garfield Cook)Science and Your Faith in God (by Henry Eyring et al.)Truth and Science: An LDS Perspective (by Dave Collingridge)The Case for Divine Design (by Frank Salisbury)

I'm sorry, but I can't un-recommend "Earth: In the Beginning" strongly enough. Yes, it contains some very interesting and defensible claims. Unfortunately, those claims that are interesting aren't defensible by religion or science and those claims that are defensible by science and/or religion aren't very interesting.

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raedyohed

8/23/2011 01:31:17 pm

Haha, yeah my copy of "Earth: In the Beginning" is filled with underlining, ?-marks, and margin notes about half-way through. I couldn't take it any more and gave up. I'll tackle it again over Thanksgiving or Christmas vacation.

I would recommend "Converging Paths to Truth" which is a collection of the Summerhays lectures given at BYU over the last several years. It was just published this year, and I've only read about half the essays. Mike Whiting's is decent, though short. Overall the book is a bit disjointed, since the essays are largely just edited transcripts of completely unrelated talks. Still, it's a nice sampling of science and religion related talks from folks at the Y.

Also add "Science and Religion: Toward a More Useful Dialogue" (2 vols.). I can't vouch for it personally, since I don't own it, yet. But used copies float around Amazon. It's another edited collection, but this one is organized into related sections and tackles many controversial issues head on. It's got ton's of recent LDS scientist's, including a few I've had as professors at BYU, so I'm a bit partial to it. Here's a review of it from Bill Evanson: http://goo.gl/WeCTQ

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Dave C.

8/23/2011 02:41:30 pm

Jeff,

I don't agree with several things in some of these books, but they are worth reading. Like you, I disagree with some points Skousen brings up in Earth and some of his evidence is seriously lacking, but it is still a worthwhile read. The best defense against some of Skousen's ideas is truly knowing his ideas, eh?

Also, this one, while not strictly LDS-themed, treats the topic of religion and evolution, goes beyond just opinions and speculation, cites many peer-reviewed papers in each chapter, and was written by the former dean of undergraduate education at BYU, and a world authority on Mendel, genetics, and evolution:

"Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA" by Daniel J. Fairbanks (Author)

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Dave C.

8/24/2011 06:44:24 am

Thanks raedyohed and Dusty, I'll look into those.

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Dave C.

8/24/2011 06:49:02 am

Okay guys, I've hestitated asking this, but I want to know if anyone has ever read Duwayne Anderson's "Farewell to Eden." It is somewhat anti-mormon in tone. It's kind of nice that no one has recommended it and I am not about to put it on the list. But I am curious about what people think about it.

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larryco_

8/27/2011 02:47:42 am

Two other books that could be added:

1) There's a nice section on science in Widtsoe's "Evidences and Reconciliations"
2) Robert Fletcher has some science-related thoughts in "A Thoughtful Faith - Essays on Belief by Mormon Scholars"

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raedyohed

9/1/2011 05:59:17 pm

Dave C

The only thing I can say about Anderson's book is that I've read several dozen comments from people who have read it. They generally fall into a few different categories. The most prevalent of these is the person looking for an excuse to leave the Church, who relies on Anderson to show the way. That is lamentable. It is a personal account of his intellectual challenges with his conception of Church doctrines versus scientific fact, and is by his own admission a part of his rationalization for leaving the Church.

For a person interested in the how & why a Latter-day Saint might struggle with some scientific ideas I imagine it could be informative. I think that reading it in this light would be helpful in understanding how Latter-day Saints can create an environment that is not hostile to science, but rather includes it in the formation of our world-view. That's just a guess, haven't read it yet.

I think it's worth adding if only for the fact that most of the books listed are going to be conciliatory, apologetic, or avoiding hard issues. While I'm not impressed by Anderson's scientific or theological creds on paper, at least I know he'll be writing from a vastly different point of view, which could give some counterpoint on some things.

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jg

11/23/2013 11:39:48 pm

Thank you so much for this list of must have/must read books!
I want to learn all that I can, and my children are learning it also.

I am so happy to find this website and expect to spend the next several days devouring everything on it! I recently published a fiction novel that explores the same issues and demonstrates, through the story of a young atheistic scientist and her believing biology professor, how science and religion can be compatible. While the book draws on LDS theology, it is also aimed at a more general Christian readership. Its title is "Emergence: A Journey of Friendship, Science, and Faith," and you can see more about it on my website, alissemetge.com.

Thanks for the great info on this website! I am excited to explore it further.

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Rey Johnson

1/11/2015 02:35:18 pm

I just discovered this blog by looking for comments on "Science and Mormonism by Melvin and Garfield Cook. I am reading it after owning it for many years and enjoying it very much. I would enjoy the comments of others. I am also in search of a published talk by Hugh B. Brown regarding the age of the earth. I recall a statement in that talk that says in effect, "There are two accounts of the age of the earth. One is in the scriptures and one is in the rocks and strata of the earth. Both have been misinterpreted but both must agree because they describe the same event." If anyone can help me locate this document I would be much obliged.

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Dave C.

1/11/2015 04:01:30 pm

Thanks for dropping in Rey. I had a copy of Cook's book until last week. I gave it to my brother-in-law. It is a good book that covers a lot of material on the creation. I gave it to my brother-in-law because many of his ideas matched the ideas in that book. I have not read that speech by HB Brown, although it sounds like something he might have said at BYU. It may be worth doing a search at http://speeches.byu.edu/

There's a quote by Elder James E. Talmage that is very similar-- or maybe it is the one you are thinking of. He says, "Discrepancies that trouble us now will diminish as our knowledge of pertinent facts is extended. The Creator has made record in the rocks for man to decipher; but He has also spoken directly regarding the main stages of progress by which the earth has been brought to be what it is. The accounts can not be fundamentally opposed; one can not contradict the other; though man's interpretation of either may be seriously at fault." This is from "The Earth and Man," an address delivered at the Tabernacle in SLC on August 9, 1931 and later published by the Church in the Deseret News. The address is included in the book "Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative LDS Statements" edited by Evenson and Jeffery, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in this topic.